Father Christmas
by LitLover 101
Summary: Requested fic for Emma Salvatore. Landon Kirby. Landon Salvatore? Landon just wants to get through Christmas, but he can't seem to stay away from the people who he's told are his family. Hope contends with a new monster. The twins try to be helpful. It's just another Christmas. Ft. Delena and Penelope Park AU/AH Spin-off of Fresh from the Oven and Still Squawking


**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Legacies**_** that would be the CW, Julie Plec, and the usual suspects.**

**Hello, my lovely readers. Landon struggles with family issues this Christmas, and a monster attacks the school, with varying results. On with the show…**

_**Father Christmas:**_

About a month ago, Landon Kirby sat in Alaric Saltzman's office at the Salvatore Boarding School informing Landon that he, Landon, descended from the Salvatores. Specifically, Landon was the great-great-great—something grandson of Damon Salvatore. This caused Landon to form a new tradition; being a shady stalker who lurked around the Salvatore family home on major holidays or New Year's, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Landon's least favorite holiday, Christmas.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Landon made his way back to his school's vehicle which he kind of borrowed—without asking first. His mouth turned downward as he ducked his head.

"Excuse me, sir," a girl's voice startled Landon who tried to keep walking.

"Sir!" the girl's voice became insistent. "You dropped this!" she called.

Landon turned around and inhaled at the sight of a picture of his mother. The girl who held it was Stefanie Salvatore. In all of his stalking, Landon had seen the girl grow over the past two years. She was only thirteen. However, she gave the impression of being older as she strode toward Landon with a sort of confidence he wished he'd possessed at her age. Her hand moved toward him, offering his picture back to him.

"Thanks," Landon said. He nodded and moved to go back to the vehicle.

"Don't you have a family to go home to?" the girl inquired.

"What?" Landon froze in place.

"You hang out around my house. A lot. I would have told my parents but I don't think you're going to hurt us. So, why are you being all stalker-y?" Turning to face the girl, Landon looked down at the barely-a-teen girl. Her brown eyes bore into his. One brow lifted and her arms folded over her chest as she waited for him to spill his guts.

"Your family just seems…happy. And, yes, I am an orphan. I go to the school named after your uncle. And I came by here one day. Just kind of peered in. Sorry. That's weird. But you guys just seemed so…happy…" Landon shook his head. "It's weird. And wrong. I won't do it again. Have a Merry Christmas…" He turned and hurried to the school car. What would he do if they found out and gave him the boot?

~0~

Hanging up her phone, Lizzie shook her head at Hope and Jo. "It's worse than we thought. He's still refusing to talk to them. I even had Stefanie go out, as bait. I told the kid to bring milk and cookies." She groaned.

Hope sighed. "This is going to end badly. He hates secrets. We shouldn't force him."

"Lizzie's right, Hope. If he doesn't tear off the Band-Aid; he might never." Jo sat between Lizzie and Hope. Her dark eyes went from Hope to her sister. "We're just giving him a little push."

"But inviting them to the party. And not telling Landon first?" Hope shook her head. "I just think we should tell him." She got to her feet and moved toward the twins' bedroom door.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Lizzie shot to her feet and held up her hand. The door sealed shut and Lizzie wore a triumphant smile. "It's time for Charlie to get over his fear of running the chocolate factory."

"Huh?" Josie looked at her sister.

"Whatever." Lizzie rolled her eyes. "You get the point. Landon has to face his fears. Then we get on with the important part of Christmas."

"Finding out what we got you?" Hope suggested.

"Returning all things with receipts," Josie deadpanned as Lizzie nodded with a smile. Hopefully they were doing the right thing here.

~0~

"Damon. Elena. Kids. Thanks for coming," Alaric Saltzman greeted the Salvatore family as they came into the foyer of the Salvatore school.

"Not Damon. Santa," Elena corrected with a wink.

"Oh," Ric nodded and grinned. "Thanks for coming, Santa!" he called out more loudly.

Some of the lower grade children overheard and came running to stare at Damon in awe.

"That's not the real Santa," Pedro cried out. He stood on the stairs and eyed Damon. "We met the real Santa. And you're not him! Get the imposter!" he cried.

The other lower grade children joined the cry for blood of the fake Santa and surrounded Damon. "Uh." Alaric felt worried. Most of the kids were witches, but some of them were not-yet-activated wolves. Not good.

"Look, it's Santa!" Lizzie cried out. She had one arm wrapped around a very uncomfortable-looking Landon's shoulders. "Look, Muppet, he might make you into a real boy; if only you wish upon a star!"

Landon glanced at Lizzie. "I think you've got your stories confused."

Lizzie glowered. "Go sit on the not-so-fat man's lap and tell him what you want this year!" she snarled, shoving Landon who stumbled down the remaining steps and nearly plowed into Elena.

"I am sooo sorry," Landon began when he got a good look at Elena. His eyes widened and he turned and made a run for it.

"That's not the real Santa!" Pedro cried. He held up his hands and started to chant when Lizzie slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Who wants cookies!" Lizzie cried. "Landon, come here and help me!" she shouted.

Shoulder slumping, Landon turned and made his way past the Salvatores, his feet moved extra quickly past the fake Santa.

When the coast was clear, Damon tugged the beard down. "Ric, are you sure that kid's related to me? He spooks too easily. Probably a Donovan."

"Damon!" Elena cried. She shot her husband a look and Damon rolled his eyes as more footsteps came down the stairs.

Alaric looked up to see Hope and Josie coming down the stairs. "Didn't Landon just come down?" Hope asked them, frowning.

"And ran. Typical of a Donovan," Damon muttered.

Alaric decided to ignore his long-time friend. "Yeah. He decided to help Lizzie corral some of the younger kids with cookies. Speaking of which…Stefanie. Sam. Would you like cookies?" He turned to eye the teens who shook their heads. "Well, would you like a tour of the grounds?"

"O-kay," Stefanie sounded more and more like Damon with each passing year.

Ric nodded. "Be back," he told the older Salvatores.

Damon nodded.

Once Damon and his wife were alone, Damon headed for his old Great Room. "This brings back memories, doesn't it?" he inquired. He held out a hand and his wife took it. They began to dance in front of the fireplace. Neither were aware of a monster who worked in playing tricks on humans had slunk down the chimney.

~0~

Hope found Landon in the kitchen. Lizzie had left him there. He sat on the stool. A cookie held in one of his hands was the only sign that Landon was still aware of his surroundings. Walking over to her boyfriend, Hope placed her hands on his thighs. "Hi," she said quietly.

Lifting his head, Landon offered her a half-hearted smile. "Hey," he replied.

"Are you okay?" Hope asked.

Landon nodded. "Cookie?" He held out the treat to Hope who took it. "Damon Salvatore is here," Landon told her.

"I know," Hope said.

"What do you mean: You know?" Landon demanded. Now, his eyes darkened. "You knew he was coming here and you didn't think it would be something I should know?" He shoved himself off the stool. "Hope, when are you going to stop deciding what I should and should not know?"

"When you stop hiding!" Hope snapped. She set the cookie on the counter. "Ric invited them because they are his friends. He did not invite them last year because he was worried about how it would affect you. Lizzie convinced her dad to invite them here, this year, because you need to stop avoiding the truth!"

"Seriously! You're going to tell me to stop avoiding the truth?" Landon scoffed. "That's funny coming from you!"

For a moment they stared at each other and it felt like the room might explode when the sounds of merriment coming from not-so-far-away could be heard. "Great! And it looks like real Santa has infected this place, again!" Hope cried, throwing her arms up in the air. "With any luck he figured out my Christmas wish: To punch something!"

Stomping out of the kitchen, Hope made her way down the hall. Sure enough, her fellow students were acting like a bunch of idiots. Just like they had in October. "Again?" she groaned in disgust.

"Why so down, little girl?" Santa cried, coming to stand in front of her. Only it wasn't really Santa. It was Damon Salvatore in a Santa suit. Did Elena Salvatore come here in that costume? Hope frowned at the sight of Elena Claus moving around the room with a plate of cookies. The lower grade students seemed to be quite content with everything going on around them now. "What is going on?" Hope said.

Lizzie came to her side. The Siphoner was somewhat out of breath. "Good news. Bad news." She whispered to Hope.

"Good news?" Hope retorted, eyeing the Salvatores.

"They really believe they're the Kringles and are Ho-ho-ho-ing it up." Lizzie's eyes darted over what was happening. "Bad news?" Hope nodded. "We have another monster. And I have no idea where it is or what it looks like."

"Oh, thank you, Santa!" Hope beamed. "This means I do get to hit something."

"Well, as long as you're happy…" Lizzie gave Hope a suspicious look. "You haven't drunk the eggnog, yet, right?"

"No," Hope replied as Jo offered Landon a cup of nog. "Put that down!" Hope shouted, pointing a finger and nog exploded all over Jo and Landon.

"I was just trying to be in the spirit!" Jo complained, shivering under the layer of nog which dripped from her hair. "Let me know when this day is over!"

Sighing, Hope decided to apologize to Jo after this mess was cleaned up. Right now, she had a monster to track down. "If I were a monster, where would I go?" she asked herself. And then it dawned on her. "After Landon."

"What else is new," Lizzie added.

Hope had forgotten Lizzie was with her. "Can you get the rest of the Squad while I try to find Landon?" Hope called as she made a break for the kitchen where she'd left her boyfriend.

"On it!" Lizzie called back.

Hope ran into the kitchen to find Rafael consuming an entire fruitcake. Slice half-way to his mouth; Raf gave Hope a guilty look. "Cake?" he inquired.

"Have you seen Landon?" Hope demanded.

"No." Raf shook his head, devouring the last of the fruit cake and he looked at the empty plate with a profound sadness. "Have you seen more of this?" he held up the empty plate.

"Raf, I will make you ten fruit cakes if you will help me find Landon," Hope replied.

"Okay," Rafael sniffed the kitchen. "He went out that door." He pointed at the side door. "Said he had something else to do…"

"A monster," Hope groaned.

Now Rafael seemed to be snapping out of it. "Is it after Landon?"

"Probably," Hope replied.

Rafael set the plate aside. "Probably should have led with that."

Hope rolled her eyes. She was headed for the side door when Ric came into the room. "We have a little problem: 'Santa' wants to fly to the North Pole."

"What?" Hope glanced back at Ric. "He can't!"

"Apparently he doesn't get that," Ric replied.

"How are you not affected by the magic?" Hope demanded.

Ric grinned. He pulled out a necklace from under his shirt. "Had this made after the whole Christmas in October debacle. It prevents me from being susceptible to magic."

"Great." Hope did not like the idea of not being able to use magic on Ric. But she figured she could find a loophole. Right now, she had to stop Damon from killing himself and stop a monster from doing something to her boyfriend. Sounded like a regular day on the calendar year.

~0~

A smile on her face, Josie came out the front door of the Salvatore School to find Hope yelling at someone on the roof. "What's going on?" she asked Rafael.

Rafael glanced at her. "Damon Salvatore thinks he's Santa Claus and he's trying to guide his sled and reindeer."

"Oh?" Josie looked up at the man wandering atop the school's roof. "Silly, that's Santa," she told Rafael.

"Jo, snap out of it!" Rafael took hold of Josie and shook her gently until she began to frown. "You in there, Jo?"

"Yes." Josie shuddered. "Not the Santa-virus, again!" Groaning, she looked at the roof. "How did he get up there?"

"Ladder," Rafael said. "I think." Frowning, he looked back up at the roof.

"Damon! You're not Santa!" Hope shouted, cupping her hands to her mouth. "You're going to hurt yourself!" She rolled her eyes. "I don't have time for this. I have a monster to kill!"

"Why don't you let me handle this and you can go track the monster?" Josie suggested.

"Are you sure?" Hope replied, already backing away from the strange situation.

"Go," Josie said, her eyes already on the roof. "I can fix this."

"I'm going to go with Hope. You good?" Rafael asked.

"I'm fine," Josie replied. Her eyes were still on the roof with the poor man who had visions of grandeur. "Damon, do you want to come down and talk about the color of the Camaro? Lizzie and I were talking about a Hot Pink!"

"Sorry, Josie Saltzman! I have presents to get to little kiddies all over the world!" Damon said. Gripping his belly, he let out a: "Ho-ho-ho!"

"Oh, dear." A familiar voice made Josie's eyes widen. "Is he drunk, again?" A low chuckle followed the comment, a hand went to Josie's fingers intertwining with her own. "Hi, Jo-Jo."

"Penelope?" Josie breathed.

"Santa dropped by and gave me a ticket to Mystic Falls," Penelope said with a grin. "Looks like he knew exactly what you needed. Why don't we get this spell-bound male down before he breaks his neck?"

Josie found herself smiling like she had not smiled in nearly a year. "Thank you," she breathed before the two witches raised their hands. They aimed at Damon.

"What are you doing? He has work to do!" Elena Salvatore cried, coming out the front door.

"He'll be fine. He's just going to take a little nap before we find someone to get him down," Penelope said as Damon dropped over. "Why don't we go inside and make you a nice hot cocoa?"

Elena glanced at the roof. "It's a very stressful job," she told the girls as they went inside.

"We know," Josie said. She shot Penelope a grin. Hopefully Hope would find the monster and all would be well before tomorrow morning.

~0~

"Into the pit you go!" the maniacal elf who had ahold of Landon's foot cried, laughing hysterically.

"Why are you doing this?" Landon shouted, clawing at the ground as the elf tried to shove him into the Mali Pit of Doom.

"You shall give The Pit infinite power as the magnifier!" the elf cried, still laughing like it'd smoked Penelope Park's magic herbs.

"Hey, Will Ferrell! Let him go! He's not a battery! You don't just shove him into a remote!" Lizzie called, stomping forward.

"Lizzie," the Elf hissed with disgust.

"Wait! How do you know my name?" Lizzie demanded.

Landon glanced at the elf. This might buy him some time. "Because this is not a real elf! Remember the Dream Hag! Not a real hag! So, this is NOT a real Elf!" He pointed at the so-called elf.

Lizzie glared at the elf. "Right. So, show us your real face!"

The Elf sighed and turned into a very blue woman. "Such a chore. Why couldn't you just stay out my way?" she demanded.

"Jinni!" Lizzie shouted. Her eyes foundered. "I remember you! You made me wish for a world without Hope! You told me I would go mad not remembering what you did to me! Surprise, Bitch! I got my memories back! And you're the one who is going into The Pit!"

"Oh, really?" Jinni did not seem impressed. "Plan on doing your little magic tricks on me before I toss your friend in?" She placed a foot on Landon's side, about to shove him in when she let out a cry of shock. Blood began to run down her throat.

"I think not," Lizzie said, cocking her head to the side. "MG, let's go get our boy." She marched over to collect Landon with MG's help.

"Good thing I told Kaleb I wanted to stay here this year," MG quipped with a warm smile as he and Lizzie helped Landon to his feet.

A tearing sound made them look up and Landon wished he hadn't. Sebastian turned out to be his savior. Sort of. The vampire was really going to on the jinni. "That looks painful," Landon remarked.

"Yeah." Lizzie shook her head. "I don't think I'll be kissing him tonight."

MG tried to hide a smile. "Where are we going now?"

"I guess we're going home," Landon shoved his hands in his pockets. "I have a family to talk to."

Lizzie gave him a sympathetic look. "You'll be okay." She patted his arms before yelling, "Sebastian! We're leaving! Leave the Doggy Bag here!"

"What's a Doggy Bag?" Sebastian inquired, popping up beside his girlfriend and Landon shuddered. Just another thing to get used to.

~0~

The next morning, everyone seemed to be torn on the Christmas spirit. Landon made his way into the dining room to find the Salvatores. Damon had been talking to Alaric until Landon made his way into the room.

"Hi," Landon called, waving at the people who were supposed to be his family.

"Hey," Damon said. He shocked Landon by coming over and hugging the teen. "Ric tells me you're my great-great-great… Let's not get caught up in the age thing. Why don't you come and meet the rest of the family." He held onto Landon, one arm wrapped around Landon's shoulders. "My lovely wife, Dr. Elena Salvatore. My daughter, Stefanie. And Sam. My oldest."

"By months," Stefanie rolled her eyes.

Sam rolled his eyes at his sister.

Landon tried to think of something to say. "It's nice to meet all of you."

"Dad thought he was Santa," Stefanie pointed out with a giggle. "Some of the vamps had to go up on the roof and get him down. It was kind of funny."

"Ha-ha." Damon rolled his eyes before he turned serious. "You like it here?"

"Sure. It's nice." Landon watched Damon eye him. "Food doesn't suck."

Damon and Elena traded a look. A little smile passing between them. "If you're not busy all day; you could drop by the house. We, too, have food," Elena told Landon.

"Oh? So, you're leaving?" Landon's brows went up.

"Yeah. We need to get back to the human world. But if you'd like to visit; don't be a stranger," Damon said. Then he recoiled, "Who am I? Mr. Rogers?" He looked mortified.

Trying to suppress laughter, Landon grinned back at his family. "I doubt it. I don't think Mr. Rogers could pull off that jacket."

"You like?" Damon inquired. "I've got extras."

"Three," Elena whispered, loudly, holding up three fingers and leaning into her husband's side.

"Thanks," Landon nodded. "Well, I'm going to go hang out with my friends. But I might stop by later…"

"Whenever you're ready," Damon said. "You're family."

"Cool." Landon nodded. He walked away and found Hope just outside the dining room. "I talked to my family!" He cried, placing his hands on Hope's shoulders. "I have a family!"

"Congrats," Hope replied. She slid her arms around his waist. "Are you planning on going home to them?"

"Nope. Got a family here, too," Landon said, leaning forward and kissing Hope on the lips. After a moment, he pulled back. "But if you were up to having dinner with them…" Hope nodded and Landon grinned, going back to kissing his girlfriend with visions of dinner with the family he'd wished for every Christmas. Some wishes did come true.

_**The End**_

**Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing. **

**Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! **

**-J**


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